Eastern Bluebird Natural History

The brilliant blue male bluebird has a rusty throat, breast and sides and white belly. He sits high atop a dead tree or branch, TV antenna, or power line to hunt for insects that make up two-thirds
of his diet. He and his mate also eat wild berries, especially in cold weather when insects are not available. They rarely damage cultivated crops, and are very beneficial to farmers and gardeners by
eating insects. The young bluebirds have spotted breasts until fall molt.

As early as the end of February and as late as June, the male bluebird locates a nesting site, established territory around it of two to five acres, and sings to attract a female and warn other male
bluebirds to stay away. Once a female accepts the site, she builds a neat cup shaped nest of dry grasses and pine needles. Nest building may take five days to three weeks.

The female lays one blue, or rarely white, egg each morning until three to six eggs are produced. The female begins incubating the eggs after the final egg is laid. Thirteen to fourteen days later,
all eggs will hatch with hours of each other.

The adults begin feeding the young immediately after hatching, starting with soft insects and graduating to courser food as the nestlings grow. The adults also keep the nest clean by removing the
fecal sacs that enclose the nestlings' waste. The nestlings grow very rapidly, with theirs eyes opening on about the eighth day. By the time the nestlings fledge (leave) the nest box 16 - 20 days after
hatching, they will be nearly the size of an adult bluebird.

Usually the entire brood of fledglings leaves the box within two hours. The fledglings can fly fifty to one hundred feet on their first flight and try to land in a bush, shrub or low branch to avoid
predators. The adults continue to care for the young and teach them to forage for food. The male bluebird will continue this job while the female begins her second or third nest. On occasion, the young
from a first nesting will help feed the nestlings from their parents' second or third nesting.

After nesting season is over, bluebirds give up their territories and flock together. South Carolina bluebirds do not migrate. They are joined by migrant northern bluebirds and roam the
area looking for berries. In winter, bluebirds will roost in pine tree stands and nest boxes to avoid cold weather.